Cerberus HQ, CEO’s Office: 937, January 12th, Saturday, 12:00 PM.
Almost a couple of weeks after King’s defeat at the hands of Bloodhound, Cerberus’ number of operations in the Deadlands was reduced to multiple scouting missions, and reconstruction of inner defenses to maintain a secure perimeter while the threat of the specters remained silent. Sara Endel—CEO of Chimera, continued to offer her assistance to the three headed dog despite the lack of activity within the zone. However, rumors of the declining relationship between the two entities began to spread among their troops.
The mistrust of the redhead woman began with the sudden assassination of the third head of their alliance, as not soon after Boris’ death, Arwen opened negotiations to seize his company and resources for himself. Despite her suspicions and many investigations under the table, no evidence that could connect Cerberus’ owner with the old man’s death ever revealed itself—forcing Sara to refocus her efforts on different matters.
Within the walls of headquarters, on a large field of dirt assembled like a running track, Claire and her team performed their regular morning exercises as usual—having mostly recovered from the injuries they suffered. They jogged on the large field under a cloudy sky, with the lieutenant leading their charge while followed by Eric—whose pace closely matched hers. Behind the young noble ran Scott, his shoulders dropped, and arms at the front as they swung from side to side. Taking the last spot was Tori, who despite her determined spirit to continue, could barely keep herself breathing in the back through it all.
“Remember… me…” Scott said before plummeting down, taking his glasses off before planting his face on the dirt.
“Uh?” Noticing one of her men down, Claire stopped her own advance to signal the end of their training—bringing Eric with her to check on Scott’s well-being.
“Not the most athletic, are we Foley?” The noble mocked him with a smirk.
“…”
“…Is he dead?”
“We’ll have to find a new sniper for the team…” Claire replied with furrowed brows, prompting Scott to jump back on his feet.
“Whoa! Hey! Urgh… my lungs…”
“I… can… we…” Tori eventually caught up with the group, gasping her words as she could barely speak. “Can… we… can…” the lieutenant patted her head with a smile, announcing the end of their training to the girl’s relief. “Thank… you…”
“Let’s hit the showers,” she said. “It’s almost lunch time anyway.”
“Lieutenant!” A feminine voice called to her from the distance, to which the group turned to look at in search for its source—finding Arwen’s right hand Ivanna sprinting in their direction—who eventually reached them with a face drenched with sweat. “Lieu… lieutenant…” the young woman rested both hands on her knees, giving her tired legs a quick break as she spoke. “The boss… the boss wants to see you…” she breathed.
Not surprised by Ivanna’s words, Claire turned to her team before instructing them to leave without her with a single nod—to which they responded with one of their own. The group left immediately after, though Eric remained behind for a quick second, and while the young noble uttered not a word, his mistrust for Arwen had been known to the lieutenant for months—prompting her to glance at him from the corner of her eye. She did not address Eric’s stance however, and simply prompted Ivanna to guide her to the CEO’s office—where they arrived without further interruption in a matter of minutes.
“Welcome, lieutenant!” Arwen said with a smile, sitting himself behind the desk of his office while extending his arm to offer Claire the sit at the front. “Please, take a sit! I’m glad to see you’ve recovered so quickly!” he announced enthusiastically.
“Sir, thank you, sir.” Claire replied with a salute before sitting down herself. “…”
“Sorry that I couldn’t visit you and your team at the infirmary,” he told her, furrowing his brows with a regretful expression. “So much has happened that… It’s just hard to keep track of time now… I hope Ivanna’s was enough to show my appreciation for your efforts.”
“It…”
“Anyway!” He interrupted the lieutenant with an abrupt reaction—making her flinch slightly. “I was actually in the midst of planning a new operation for all of you, among other things as well. That’s why I called”
“S-so soon, sir? My team and I are still recovering from our wounds…”
“Oh, no, no, no… it may take a few months until you are ready for that, and I want to iron out some details as well. The actual reason why I called was… well, I want to give you a short vacation as a token of my appreciation.” he smiled at Claire, a sparkle in his eyes that could be seen through the lens of his glasses. “I know it’s hard for all of you out there, and I do care about everyone, you know? That’s why I thought you’d appreciate this gesture!”
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Although hiding her discomfort with a neutral expression, Claire had no choice but to listen to Arwen’s strange rambling about the company and the well-being of his employees, as well as Bloodhound and their efforts in the Deadlands. Through the man’s odd gabble, as he seemed oddly excited about every word he spewed, the subject of acquiring Hydra eventually escaped his lips. Not far into it however, he seemed to have snapped back into reality with a silent gasp, both eyebrows raised as his eyes meet the lieutenant’s composed expression—offering no reaction to his speech.
“Ahem…” he cleared his throat. “Ahahah… maybe the lack of sleep is getting to me. Sorry I went on and on about this.”
“It’s no problem, sir.”
“Where was I…ah yes, your vacation. I’m sending you all back to the empire, lieutenant.” Arwen proudly announced with a smile. “I’m sure the emperor himself would love to see you again. I read in the reports that your team saved his life, so I doubt he would mind if you paid him a visit.”
“A-are you sure, sir? What if the specters show themselves while we are out… the empire has seen activity from them before as well. It’s not…”
“It’s alright! If we can merge Hydra’s resources with ours then…”
“I heard their CEO was victim of an assassination… authorities had yet to find anything.”
“Y-yes… yes, most unfortunate, but we have to continue our battle without him. I’m sure he would’ve been happy to lend us his technology, I’m sure.”
“…”
“Anyway! I think that should be all, there will be no operations for you and Bloodhound before your vacation, so you can rest easy for the time being. I don’t want to overwork you too much, hahah… Y-you are free to go now, lieutenant.”
Claire stood up from her sit, and saluted at her boss with a firm stance—a raised chin and straight gaze. “Sir!” However, her lips trembled anxiously as a tight knot formed in her chest—the constrictive feeling in her heart caused by a simple question. “Sir…”
“Hm? I-is there something wrong…”
“No, no… I just wanted to ask…” Claire couldn’t help but clench her jaw, each pounding beat of her heart echoing loudly in her ears. “My… My father, sir… I’ve not heard of him… I’ve not heard of him in a long time… I’m just wondering… how is he?”
Arwen’s eyes widened at the sudden emerges of a topic he did not wish to discuss, as Sebastian and his rebellious Heretic unit never returned after Sovereign’s desertion of the company—cutting communications completely with headquarters to act on their own within the Deadlands. The man failed to respond to the lieutenant’s question, and his silence did not go unnoticed by the young woman. Claire’s body trembling with shaking fists, her face lowered completely to gaze at the floor.
“…”
“N-no, no! He is fine!” He claimed in a hurry, lying through his teeth only to keep the trust of the company’s ace.
“…!” Like a heavy burden being lifted off her shoulders, the lieutenant’s expression lightened almost instantly at Arwen’s response. A gasp escaped her, and her sparkly eyes stared with deep curiosity into the CEO’s. “Really!? I have not heard of him in so long… where is he? Is he still working in the south? I thought…”
“Y-yes! he is still busy in the southern region…” the man swallowed hard, a torrent of sweat rolling down his forehead. “Sorry for not informing you earlier… all this work, hahah… I guess it slipped my mind. There are some… repairs and reinforcements that need to be made over there, and no one better than him for the job!”
“O-of course!” Claire saluted one more time, now with a smile of relief in her face. “Thank you, sir! I will leave you to your work.” She announced, questioning not a single claim made by Cerberus’ head.
“Yes, thank you…”
Kingdom of Heildin, Heaven’s Castle: 936, January 12th, Saturday, 12:00 PM.
Meanwhile in the south, at the abandoned castle of a once powerful king, Eutychia strolled through its empty hallways with a frown of discontent and disappointment. The lies of her own father lurked deep within her mind, as throughout her entire upbringing, the girl was trained and educated to become the leader of all the men and women of Heildin—a farce proven by the lips of a foreign man of silver hair.
The sudden disappearance of her own sister weighted in the black knight’s thoughts as well, with no traces of Euthemia to be found around the castle, and no one available to search for her in the ghostly capital. Having heard about Loki’s fate from Bloodhound, the princess refused to believe that her own teacher could be bested even by a daemon, though her many hunts for the man bore no fruits despite her best attempts—finding nothing but dirt and dust in the barren fields of the Deadlands.
“Euthemia… Loki…” she whispered through the lonely halls, a tear rolling down her cheek before she whipped it off with her hand. “No… I… I can’t… they need me…” her expression hardened with determination, refusing to fall into disappear and see her home be destroyed by the conflicts created by a man she once thought of as a great father.
She explored the empty rooms of the enormous castle, and eventually reached the place where she once stood with pride—the place she served as the right hand of King. His throne remained intact, a gargantuan and sturdy sit to match the corrupted giant’s size. Eutychia walked up the staircase towards it, the lives and well-being of the people of Heildin distracting the girl from her own personal issues. She stood before the gigantic throne, and with a deep sigh to calm her beating heart, the princess took her place as new monarch of an abandoned and broken kingdom.
“This purpose… is still my own.”
No food, no drinks, no guests or family to celebrate with. The girl’s coronation was as dark as the armor that clad her body, giving birth to queen Eutychia with a silent whisper of the winds.
END OF CHAPTER